The degenerative disease Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy slows them down, tires them out and means they can’t climb, run and do all the things they want.

Not that Max, 7, William, 6, and Hudson, 4, let the disease stand in their way.

“They try to do everything, but there is lots of anger and frustration when they can’t do things,” said mum Belinda Shorter.

The family’s lives and backyard were transformed last month when the Make a Wish Foundation granted William his wish of a cubby house bakery in their back yard.

And as if a wish coming true wasn’t enough, the actual delivery of the cubby created great excitement because it needed a crane to lift it over the back fence of their Mt Clear home.

“William wanted a cubby house, he wanted it to be a shop and he wanted it to be a bakery but we’re not really sure why,” Mrs Shorter laughed. “He does like cooking and he loves watching all the cooking shows but I’m not quite sure why he wanted a bakery.

“It’s nice to see them enjoy something they will use for a long time, especially since they can’t really play on the playground – they will get a lot of use out of this,” Mrs Shorter said.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder usually diagnosed in early childhood. It almost exclusively affects boys and causes muscle degeneration and weakness. People with muscular dystrophy are usually wheelchair bound from eight to 12 years and the disease can take their lives by their late teens.

The Shorters are putting paths and concrete ramps in the back yard and up to the cubby house so the boys can use their mobility aids and eventually wheelchairs to still play in the cubby.

“They’re all still mobile, just normal little boys,” Mrs Shorter said.

The trio have physiotherapy and hydrotherapy once a week, must do nightly stretching at home, have regular visits to the pediatrician and travel to the Royal Children’s Hospital once every three months for appointments at the neuromuscular clinic.

“I think it’s amazing what the Make a Wish Foundation do to make kids happy, and that’s all you want as a parent – you want your kids to be happy and not have to think about what they’ve got all the time.”